


He Does It Like His Daddy

by literaryempress



Series: Max and Isaac's Infinite Storybook [8]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Amusement Parks, Bonding, Chicago (City), Elementary School, Essays, Father Figures, Father-Son Relationship, Fear, Ferris Wheels, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-14
Updated: 2016-03-23
Packaged: 2018-05-26 17:40:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6249316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/literaryempress/pseuds/literaryempress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A two-shot of Ian and Mickey's sons dressing up, looking up to, and/or behaving like their fathers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ian and Max

Ian was already out of bed and getting ready for work Monday morning. He had gotten a new job last week, because the old job he had wasn’t paying him enough. The job was located downtown, too, which meant that he had to choose his wardrobe wisely if he wanted to impress his boss.

So Ian chose a button-down grey top and some black pants to wear, and he even went a step further and slipped some cologne out of his and Mickey’s drawers. By the time he made it to the bathroom, he took a quick, warm shower. He doubted that his co-workers would wanna smell the sex on him from last night, even if he did have the cologne to cover it up. He wanted to be as professional as he could if he wanted to have a long stay here.

The redhead was out of the shower within minutes and slipped on his boxers, socks, and pants. Before putting his shirt on, he went to the sink to brush his teeth. A few seconds after he turned on the water, his oldest son Max entered the room, searching the enclosed space for his green steps and toothbrush.

“Morning, champ,” Ian told the little guy as he climbed on the steps to meet eye-to-eye with the bathroom mirror.

“Morning, Dad,” Max greeted back, and he took his orange toothbrush and applied some toothpaste to it. He looked up and watched as Ian started to brush his own teeth, and that was when Max started following his movements.

Ian could tell that Max was following his lead, so he allowed it. It’s been like that ever since the kid knew how to walk, and that’s how Ian knew that he was doing his job as a parent right.

The two of them brushed their tongues, the insides of their cheeks, and the rooves of their mouths before spitting in the sink and swishing water into their mouths. Ian opened the cabinet in front of them and took out the mouth wash, along with a tiny paper cup.

“Dad, I wanna use the mouth wash, too,” Max stated with enthusiasm.

“Oh, really?” Ian asked, a smile growing on his face. Before, he could barely get the kid to eat carrots and spinach with his dinner, and now he wanted to use mouth wash like the grown folks did. Ian couldn’t be more proud of his son for growing up so much.

Ian grabbed a second paper cup and filled it up with some mouth wash before handing it to Max. “Here ya go, little man.”

“I’m not little anymore, Dad,” Max clarified. “I’m a big boy now.”

“You’re a big boy, huh?”

“Yeah. I did my homework by myself.”

“That’s really good, son. Keep up the good work.”

Ian started to sip the mouth wash and swish it around in his mouth for two minutes before spitting it in the sink. He turned towards Max as he started to do it himself. “Don’t swallow it now, okay?” Ian reminded him. “You swish and spit.”

“Got it,” Max replied, and he sipped the mouth wash and swished it around a couple of times in his mouth.

“Make sure you do it long enough to get the plague and stuff out.” Ian received a muffled response followed by a nod, and Max swished the mouth wash in his mouth for a good few minutes before spitting it in the sink. “Good job, sport.” Ian congratulated him.

Ian went to get the shaving cream and the electric razor to get the stubble from off his face. As he was plugging the razor in, Max grabbed the shaving cream bottle and observed it.

“Whoa, hold on, sport,” Ian told his son, retrieving the bottle from Max’s possession. “You’re still too young for this stuff.”

“But you get to use it.” Max pouted.

“That’s because daddies have hair growing here, and younger boys like you and your brother don’t have it yet.” Ian applied some of the cream onto his chin. Max watched in some sort of amazement yet hidden sadness. “Wait until you’re older and start growing facial hair. You’ll understand what I mean.”

Max’s shoulders slumped as he reluctantly responded. “Okay.”

Ian began to rub the shaving cream over his chin, and Max quietly observed him for a couple of seconds. Ian got a stripe of hair off his face when he turned back to his son. “Go and get ready for school. We have to drop you guys off in a few minutes.”

The moment he stepped out of the bathroom and into his own room, Max came up with an idea.

* * *

“Ay,” Mickey told Isaac as he watched his son reach for the cookie jar on the shelf. “No cookies for breakfast. What did I tell you about junk food in the morning?” Mickey moved the jar out of Isaac’s reach and picked the little boy up in his arms.

“But I want a cookie,” Isaac pouted, leaning against Mickey’s chest.

“I put a couple of them in your lunch bag already,” Mickey replied, rubbing the little boy’s side. “Besides, Daddy and I made you breakfast.” He walked over to the counter with Isaac in his arms and let him observe the scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast that was already prepared. “See that? You have good food over here.”

“Correction,” Ian spoke, entering the dining area from the master bedroom, all dressed up in his work attire. “Daddy made you guys breakfast. Papa was hanging around, wanting to get a piece of the bacon before it was done.”

Mickey stood defensively as Ian walked in the kitchen. “I thought we were a unit, Daddy Gallagher. We do this stuff together, remember? Whatever happened to all of that?”

“Nice try, Papa Milkovich,” Ian replied with a smirk on his face. He appreciated how much Mickey’s grown since they first had kids, but even Mickey had to have known that Ian wasn’t as gullible as he looks. “Maybe next time.” He reached a hand over to Mickey’s waist and brought him close enough so he could place a warm kiss to Mickey’s lips. Isaac covered his eyes with both of his hands in response.

“Ew, yucky.”

“What was that?” Mickey asked, tickling the little boy under his arms and making him squirm. “Call me and your Daddy yucky one more time, and I’m gonna get Spiderman out of your room and stick you to the wall.”

“Spiderman catches bad guys, Papa.”

“I’m paying him this time,” Mickey replied, placing Isaac on his feet. “Now wash your hands. You’re not getting those nasty germs into your mouth while you’re eating your eggs.” Before Isaac completely left the room, Mickey called to him. “And go use the toilet, Isaac! For real this time!”

A moment later, Max came out of his room all dressed for school. Upon his entrance in the kitchen, Ian and Mickey frowned. “Um…buddy?” Ian asked, observing Max’s baby blue, buttoned-up shirt and black dress pants. “Why are you wearing that?”

“You said I had to get ready for school,” Max explained.

“No, he gets that,” Mickey clarified. “He means why did you choose to wear _that_ today?”

“I wanted to dress like Dad.”

Ian and Mickey shared a look, followed by a smile on their faces. “You wanted to dress like Daddy today?” Ian asked, kneeling down and placing both hands on his son’s shoulders. Max nodded. “Well, aren’t you worried that this will get messy at school today? You’re gonna be on the playground and stuff, and you’ll get dirt on everything.”

“I’ll be careful,” Max promised, extending his arms so Ian could get a better look at his arms.

Ian sighed, adjusting Max’s collar just a little bit and looking into a tiny pair of green eyes. He loved his son so much. He wanted him to be happy and to live a happy life, and the one thing Ian especially learned growing up was that parents lead by example. Many parents who have successful careers and lifestyles often end up being role models for their children, and that’s what Ian wanted to be to Max.

But this was also a nice outfit, and he wanted Max to save it for formal events. Sure, he could trust that he would keep it clean, even if a tiny milk stain got on it. However, things like rips and shreds can’t be fixed by hand, unless you were good with a sewing machine or knew someone who was. Neither of these applied to Ian or Mickey.

“I still kind of want you to put something else on, okay?” Ian asked him. This was the easiest Ian could put him down. “You still look nice either way, okay?”

Max’s shoulders slumped. “Okay.”

“Alright, sport. Now hurry up. We’re gonna be out of here by the time we’re done eating.” Ian ruffled Max’s hair a little bit and watched him walk back to his room to change. By the time Max left, Isaac returned to the room. “Hey, muffin,” Ian spoke to him. “Ready to eat?”

“Yes, Daddy, I’m ready.”

“Yeah, Daddy, I’m hungry,” Mickey mocked Isaac, leaning over Ian’s shoulder and watching Ian place the food on the plates. The moment Ian saw Mickey’s hand reach over to the bacon, Ian swatted Mickey’s hand with a spatula.

“Someone’s impatient.”

“Well, you serve like you’re a staff member from Sandy the Snail’s Deli or something. Wanna speed up the pace, Slow Fry?”

“Yeah, Daddy,” Isaac agreed, impatiently folding his arms. “We’re hungry.”

Ian giggled to himself before placing a kiss on Mickey’s cheek. “It won’t be any longer, boys. Trust me.”

* * *

“Thank you so much, Kyle, for sharing your paper,” Mrs. Olsen told the young boy before he returned to his seat. “Does anyone else want to present their paper for the class?”

Max looked from his left to his right. About half of the class presented their papers already, and no one was volunteering to go next. Mrs. Olsen’s rules stated that, if no one volunteered, then she would have to pick someone to go. Max didn’t want to be called out in front of the rest of the class, so he raised his hand to go next.

“Very well, Max. Come up the podium.”

Max took his paper from out of his folder and brought it up with him to the front of the class. He wasn’t good a public speaking. In fact, he was terrified of it. The last time he had to report something in front of the class, he thought he would stutter himself to his own death. Luckily, he had the paper topic down, and he knew that it would make his father proud.

Mrs. Olsen wrote something down on her notepad before she looked up at the redhead. “Okay, Max. Whenever you’re ready.”

Multiple pairs of eyes fell upon Max, and there was a moment of deep silence. Max couldn’t stand being under pressure like this, and a part of him wanted to run out for a minute and get some fresh air.

Then he thought about the day Ian first took him to preschool. Max didn’t even want to get out of the car that day. Ian spent a few minutes with him in the car and talked to him as gently as he possibly could, assuring him that school was going to be fun. Ian told him about all of the friends that he was going to make and all of the toys he could play with. Then Ian recalled his first time in preschool and how he didn’t want to leave Fiona’s side. But then Fiona offered him ice cream if he went through the first day.

Of course, Ian took Max to the store to get him his favorite mint chocolate chip ice cream. That was all the motivation he needed to get through the day. That, and the confidence booster Ian gave him before they walked through the double doors. Ian believed in him, and Max knew that very much. He wanted to prove to his father that he was strong enough to face a crowd.

With that in mind, Max took a deep breath and began reading his paper.

“People look up to superheroes like Spiderman, Batman, and Superman to save the day when bad guys destroy the town,” Max began, gripping hard onto the edge of the podium to avoid showing off his nervousness. “Superheroes get cats out of streets, keep people from dying, and make the world a better place.”

Another deep breath later, and Max got straight to the point. “The person I chose as my idol doesn’t wear a cape and a costume like superheroes do. In fact, he wears normal clothes just like the rest of us. He doesn’t have any super powers, but he doesn’t need them to make people happy. My idol is my dad.”

Max looked up for a second before tracing his eyes back down to the lines on his paper. “He does so much for me and my little brother Isaac. We would go to the park and play on the playground, and sometimes my brother would hurt himself from sliding down the slide. My dad would pick him up and take him home to get the bandages and put them on his scars.”

It was the spring the last time something like that happened. Ian always told Isaac to be careful on the slides, but he still ended up falling in the brown chips on the ground, ultimately scraping himself. It was a painful sight to see, even for Max, but Ian was always there to heal the wounds.

“My dad is very smart, too. Whenever I have a hard time finishing my homework, he’s always helping me work on it before we eat dinner. I sometimes have trouble with my reading assignments, and Dad is usually there to help me answer the questions on the worksheets. I always get my homework done on time, thanks to him.”

Max’s eyes skimmed down to the next paragraph. “Also, my dad is always there for us when we’re sad,” he continued. “One time, Larry Gilmore hit me on the playground, and I came home with a bruise on my face.” The class started to snicker a bit and turn their heads towards an angry, blonde eight-year-old in the back of the class.

“My dad would always ask me if I’m okay and if I needed to put ice on the bruises. Then he would stay up with me sometimes so we could watch Batman movies and play video games. Even if I’m not better by the end of the day, Dad will hug me and tell me that everything will be alright.”

With a final, nervous breath, Max started to conclude his paper. “Dad may not be a superhero like Batman, Superman, or Spiderman, but he’s as big of a hero as they are. He’s one of the best people in my entire life, and I am happy that I have a dad as awesome as him.” Max picked his paper off the podium and addressed the class. “Thank you.”

All of the kids in the room sans Larry started clapping as Max turned in his paper and made his way back to his seat. Max was glad he got all of that off his chest. It even made him feel better knowing that Ian was going to hear about it once they got home.

“That was very nice, Max,” Mrs. Olsen told the boy once he made it to his seat. “Well done.”

Larry started to stand up and raise his hand for the teacher to see. “Just for the record, I didn’t punch him,” he argued. “I didn’t even see him. It was an accident.”

“We’ll talk about that later on, Larry.” Once the boy sat down, the teacher looked around the room until she pointed to an Asian girl near the front of the class. “Okay, Isabelle. Why don’t you present next?”

* * *

“Hey, man,” Ian greeted Max as he made his way over to the car. “How was school today?”

“It was okay,” Max responded, stopping by Ian’s side. “Can I ride in the front seat?”

“It might be a little dangerous for you to do that, bud?”

“Please, Dad? Just this once?” Max begged. “I’ll be careful, and I remember to put my seat belt on when I’m riding in the car.”

“Not today, Max,” Ian stated, opening the back door for Max to climb in. “I’m picking up Papa from work today, too, so he has to take the front with me. Okay?”

Max sighed and sat in the car next to Isaac, who had already gotten out of class before he did. Max buckled his seat belt and slumped in the back seat, waiting for Ian to drive them off. Ian deflated at the sight of his son reluctantly following his orders. Ian didn’t want to see his son be upset at him for looking out for him, but what else was he supposed to tell him?

Ian got back into the driver’s seat and locked all of the doors before buckling his own seat belt and driving away from the school. The car was getting closer to the highway, Ian looked in the mirror at the two boys behind him. Isaac was playing with his Arthur doll while Max was staring outside of the window.

“Hey Max,” Ian spoke carefully, trying to get his son’s attention. “Wanna tell me what happened at school today?”

Max fumbled with the fabric of his shirt in his hands. “I had to present a paper today.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” Ian responded with interest. “What was the paper about?”

“I had to write a paper on who my idol was.”

“Yeah? And who did you choose?”

Max was quiet in his seat for a moment. Ian stopped the car as it approached traffic and turned his head around for a moment to look at his son. “Max?” Ian started to get a little concerned after the conversation the two had before they got in the car.

Finally, after a few more seconds, Max lifted his head and stared Ian in the eye. “You.”

Ian stared back at Max, surprised. “You wrote the paper about me?”

Max nodded. “And I was gonna wear the outfit you made me take off today to show everyone how nicely you dressed.” Max’s head fell. “But you wouldn’t let me wear it.”

Ian softened up at the confession. This morning with the shaving cream and the dress shirt, and sitting in the front seat with his own dad, meant something more to Max than what Ian perceived it as. Ian didn’t want to upset the kid on purpose; he loved him with all his heart, but there were just some things that Ian was greatly concerned about. That’s what he had to get Max to realize.

“Max,” Ian comforted him, reaching a hand back really quick to rub the little boy’s leg. He turned his head around so he could drive the car up some more as traffic started to clear. “You do know that I love you, right?” Max nodded. “I think that was really sweet of you to do, and I really appreciate that. I really do. It’s just…” Ian slowed the car again once the cars in front of him came to a stop. “I love that you want to grow up and all, Max, but you’re still a kid. You and Isaac are still kids. You’ve got to know that. All those things you wanted to do today – use the shaving cream, dress up, sitting up here and stuff – I know it’s something that you want to do, but there are still other factors to think about.”

“Other factors?” Max asked curiously.

“Yeah,” Ian replied. “Like I said this morning, I don’t want you ripping up your nice clothes and stuff since you and Isaac will be on the playground and everything, right?” Max nodded. “Your school has picture days and stuff for you to dress up and take photos, and you can wear that outfit then, if you want to. But imagine if you actually wore it today, and the pants tore or something. We don’t want that, do we?”

Max shook his head. “No.”

“And the whole thing with the car seat and the shaving cream?” Ian reminded him. “That stuff’s for older people like me and Papa. I don’t want you or your brother getting hurt in a car crash.”

“That would be bad,” Max spoke in agreement.

Ian stole one more glance from Max before he followed the cars ahead of him. “Tell you what?” Max looked up attentively. “Let’s pick up Papa from work and drop him and Isaac off at home first, and I’ll find us something we can do together. Sound good?”

Max seemed to brighten up at the sound of a father-son bonding he and Ian were going to have. “Okay."

Ian smiled as he stared ahead at the clearing traffic. “That’s my boy.”

* * *

“Dad, where are we going?” Max asked, looking out the window of the CTA bus at all of the unfamiliar, fancy downtown buildings.

“I can’t tell you,” Ian said, trying to keep the smile from growing on his face. “It’s a surprise.”

“I like surprises.”

“Well, you’re gonna love this."

To say that Ian was excited to take his son out for the day felt like an understatement. Ian didn’t have as many opportunities to travel the Windy City as he did when he was a child.

Then again, some of those times came with very unfortunate circumstances.

Anyways, Ian wrapped an arm around Max and looked out the window with him as they rode past a CTA bus stop. They both had on matching Chicago Blackhawks jerseys from a time they had gone to one of their winning games in the winter. Max loved the idea of wearing the same outfit as his father, so what could be so bad about now?

Moments later, Ian and Max got off the bus, and Ian led them through crowds of people. “Stay close to me, Max,” Ian told his son, and Max followed Ian through the busy streets of downtown Chicago.

Once they reached their destination, Ian looked up with a grin on his face. Max has never been here before, and it excited Ian even more knowing that he was actually here.

“Dad, what’s that?”

“The Bean.”

“It’s so big.”

“Yeah, it is,” Ian replied, holding Max’s hand and walking them closer to the Bean enough to see their reflections. “You’ve never been here before, have you?”

“No,” Max stated, looking around at the silver sculpture before them. “Hey, dad. There’s us!”

“I know. It’s great, isn’t it?” Ian asked his son, and he started to pull out his phone and focus the camera on their reflection. “Say cheese.”

“Cheese!” Ian snapped the photo and observed it for a moment before kneeling down towards Max’s height and taking a selfie of them. The photos were sent to Mickey’s phone moments later.

“Are there more of these things in Chicago, Dad?”

“Well, there’s only one Bean,” Ian replied, “but there are plenty of other places for us to visit.”

“Can we go see them now?”

Ian smiled before he checked his wallet for the amount of cash he had on him. When he was certain that he had enough, he took Max’s hand and started walking away from the Bean and back to the sidewalk. “Sure. Why not?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would have uploaded this yesterday, but I had a major project to work on with someone in one of my English classes. But anyways, happy belated birthday to both William H. Macy and Noel Fisher. You two are awesome as hell tbh.
> 
> I will take any prompts you guys have in mind, too, being that spring break is coming up for me (thank God; college was stressing me out for a minute). So if you want to send any to my Tumblr (promqueen-and-hairgel), feel free. If you don't have a Tumblr, you can send them here in the comments sections, if you want.
> 
> I hope everyone has a wonderful week.


	2. Mickey and Isaac

Mickey was usually a heavy sleeper, but thanks to the people next door mowing their lawns, he had trouble sneaking in the last five minutes of sleep he needed before he got up and prepared for the day. It also didn’t help that his youngest son Isaac came crawling under the bed sheets with him and waking him up.

“Good morning, Papa.” Isaac greeted, his little body now on top of Mickey’s back.

Mickey groaned at how heavy the little guy was on him. He was only four years old and wasn’t fat or anything, but Mickey’s body was so weak in the morning that he didn’t have enough energy to keep Isaac up. “Peanut, man, get off me,” he complained, his eyes still closed. “Let Papa sleep for another few minutes.”

“But Papa, I’m bored,” Isaac whined. “Daddy left already, and Max is still spending the night at Auntie Fiona’s house.”

Ian had some kind of special knack for leaving one or both of the kids with Mickey for the weekend while he went to hang out with Lip or some friends he made at the local gym. Today was the day he got to train some kids who were working towards ROTC, and Ian wanted Mickey to spend more time with their kids. As much as Mickey enjoyed having free time with Isaac and Max, he’s had a very busy work week and wanted to rest his limbs off a little longer.

“Peanut,” Mickey groaned, rolling a bit in the bed so Isaac could fall on the mattress, “we can play later, man, okay? Right now, Papa needs some time on his own, okay?”

Reluctantly, Isaac nodded his head. “Okay,” he declared, hopping off the bed and heading out of the room. Mickey appreciated how obedient his youngest was. Max was, too, but he was almost more persistent in persuading his fathers to get out of bed and do something productive. Maybe it was just older child syndrome or something.

Mickey sighed for a moment as he felt a wash of comfort and relief flow over him as he drifted back to sleep once again.

* * *

Isaac returned into the bedroom about ten minutes later, hopping up in the bed and crawling underneath the sheets. The little guy was lonely. His older brother got to play with their uncle Liam at the old Gallagher house, and Ian was still out for the day. He could have played with his stuffed animals or watched a movie, but it wouldn’t be as fun or effective doing that stuff alone.

“Papa,” Isaac whispered, letting his fingers dance all over the side of Mickey’s face. The pads on Isaac’s little fingers were tickling the hairs on Mickey’s face, but he hid that away from his son. Actually, he had another plan.

“Peanut,” he groaned. “What did I say about waking me up?”

“You said a few more minutes, Papa.” Isaac reminded him.

“Papa doesn’t like it when people wake him up.”

“Why not, Papa?”

“Because,” Mickey answered, and he started to roll over a bit and look at his son sitting right next to him. He grabbed Isaac by the waist and tugged him over, laying his son down right next to him and unzipping his onesie up a bit. “When people wake Papa up,” Mickey continued, “Papa tickles them, and you don’t like that, now do you?”

Isaac started to belly laugh as Mickey’s fingers danced all over Isaac’s soft skin. His little legs flailed beneath him, and an infectious sound came out of the little boy’s mouth, along with a matching smile. “Papa, stop!” Isaac giggled, and Mickey smiled as his son tried to catch his own breath.

Mickey hugged his son close to his chest and placed a kiss on his forehead. Isaac was the opposite of Mickey: optimistic, energetic, adventurous. From the past four years Mickey’s had him, Isaac encouraged Mickey to get out more, whether it be out of the bed or out of the house in general. People didn’t recognize this new Mickey with the smile plastered on his face for more than ten seconds.

He didn’t want them to. Mickey actually wanted people to see a better version of himself, one with a mini Mickey hooked to his hip and the same bright smile.

“Hey, little man,” Mickey properly greeted his son this time. “You lonely back there in your room?” Isaac nodded, and Mickey danced his index and middle fingers on Isaac’s exposed chest. He bit down on his bottom lip, stifling a chuckle as Isaac’s chin fell down towards his chest out of impulse. “Alright, buddy,” Mickey continued, “what do you wanna do today?”

“Can we go out today?”

It was a Saturday morning, and Mickey usually didn’t like going out on the weekends too much, unless Ian was taking him out for one of their weekend dates whenever they had free time. They haven’t done anything like that for months. Ian wanted to train kids like the ROTC at his school trained him, and Ian’s been working towards that for a while now. However, the combination of that and having two kids came with some sacrifices, like having to tend to the kids almost all of the time and missing out on weekend dates he and Mickey used to go on.

Going out today, though, seemed like a not-so-bad idea, though, especially since Ian was getting in shape and visiting some of his students.

Mickey rubbed Isaac’s lower back. “Alright, fine. Where do you wanna go today?”

“Can we go back to Disneyland?”

The older man chuckled. “Isaac, that’s too far away from where we are,” he explained, “and Papa doesn’t know if he has enough money for that right now.” When he saw Isaac stick out his bottom lip, Mickey slightly tugged at it with his thumb and index finger. “We can go in the summer, though, when Daddy is free and when you and Max are out of school. Sound good?”

Isaac nodded in agreement, but the little guy was still bored and looking to explore the world outside of this house. Mickey understood well enough how kids didn’t like staying in one place for too long. At four years old, though, Isaac expected a lot. Then again, Mickey should expect that himself.

“I have an idea,” Mickey told Isaac, sitting up and leaning against the head board. He adjusted Isaac so he was on his lap. “How about you go wash up and get dressed, and Papa will take you somewhere special here.”

“Where?”

“Well, if I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise, now would it?”

“No, Papa.”

Mickey chuckled and gave Isaac a kiss on the cheek. “If we wanna make it down there, we have to get ready, though.”

“Okay.”

* * *

Both Mickey and Isaac got cleaned up that morning, and Mickey threw on a gray T-Shirt and some jeans that he selected from his and Ian’s closet. The moment he was about to prepare his son some oatmeal and toast, the little guy came running out of his room in nothing but his underwear and a short-sleeved yellow top with a muffin wearing a choker on it. Mickey had to hide his laughter whenever he saw the term _stud muffin_ written across the chest.

“Papa,” Isaac stated, “can you cut my sleeves off?”

Mickey frowned. “Little man, what do you mean? You might get cold.”

Isaac’s shoulders slumped. “But I wanna look like you.” There was no point in hiding his smile now, because Mickey thought that was one of the most precious things he could hear out of either one of his sons.

“You wanna look like me, huh?” Mickey asked, picking Isaac up off the floor and holding him in the crook of his elbow.

“You always have the sleeves cut off of your shirts.”

“But peanut, you like this shirt,” Mickey replied, “and you’re gonna regret cutting the sleeves off once it gets cold again.”

“Can we buy another one when it’s cold, and then wear this one when it’s warm?” Isaac suggested, which didn’t seem like a bad idea considering that Ian bought this shirt for him only four months ago. Mickey knew exactly where Ian got it from, too, and it wasn’t that expensive or anything. Maybe they could pull it off.

“Sure, man. Why not?” Mickey caressed Isaac’s cheek with his thumb and watched as the muscles in Isaac’s face helped form another smile.

“Are you gonna buy one for you, too, Papa?”

Mickey inched an eyebrow at him. “You want me to get one, too?”

Isaac nodded. “Can we wear it today?”

Mickey hadn’t intended on going to the store today to shop for clothes; he still wanted to have enough money for what he planned on doing with Isaac today. However, the thought of matching shirts for the two of them didn’t seem that bad at all.

A kiss to Isaac’s temple, and Mickey carried him back to his room to put on some pants. “Let me get you something to eat first, and then we’ll head over there.”

* * *

Sure enough, Mickey bought three shirts that day: a child-sized one for Isaac and two adult-sized ones for himself. He took one of his shirts and snipped the sleeves off so he and Isaac could match for the day and replaced it with the gray shirt he had on. It was a little chilly in Chicago, and Mickey still wanted his son to stay warm. With that in mind, Mickey also brought along his and Isaac’s leather jackets they had stored in the back of the coat closet somewhere.

Mickey wouldn’t admit to other people how giddy he suddenly felt to be spending quality time with his son while matching from head to toe, but he most definitely felt it.

Isaac was in his baby seat, playing with his Arthur doll and looking out the window at the cars and pedestrians going from store to store. Downtown Chicago was a jungle to the little guy. He wanted to explore every nook and cranny there was to explore, but he knew that his father had something else for the two of them to do.

Speaking of which, Mickey drove the car all the way to a parking lot near a large body of water. Isaac assumed that they were going to the beach at first, but there wasn’t that much sand in the general area they were in, and they didn’t bring any swimwear or any of Isaac’s water toys.

“Papa,” Isaac spoke, confused. “Where are we?”

After properly parking the car, Mickey turned off the ignition and unbuckled his own seat belt. “We’re at Navy Pier,” he declared, getting out of the car and making his way to the back door. Once he opened it, he helped Isaac out of his baby seat.

“What’s Navy Pier?” Isaac asked, observing the passing people behind his father.

“It’s kind of like an average amusement park, but there are less rides,” Mickey explained, picking Isaac up out of the car. He shut and locked the door with his free hand before walking towards the entrance. “You’ll see when we get inside.”

The duo made it through a mall-like building with a bunch of kiosks and souvenir stores full of shirts, mugs, magnets, and other Chicago-brand items. Isaac looked over Mickey’s shoulder at all of the different things they had to offer, including some of the jewelry an elderly woman was selling a few steps away.

After what seemed to be hours making it past a bunch of people, Mickey and Isaac made it back out of the building and onto a wooden platform outside. The two looked around and observed some food booths, a couple of ferries, and the pathway that led to some of the park rides. “Are we gonna get on rides, Papa?” Isaac asked, holding onto Mickey as he walked them through the park.

“Of course,” Mickey answered, and once they were able to get a perfect view of some of the rides, he asked, “which one do you wanna get on first?”

Isaac was a little skeptical at first, considering that some of the rides there appeared to be a little scary. His father assured him that there were less rides, so he didn’t have to worry about fast roller coasters or death drops like the ones at Disneyland, but that didn’t make Isaac less worried.

Still, he wanted to show Mickey how brave he actually was. He looked up to his father a lot, and Mickey seemed like a very brave man. Isaac wanted to be brave, too. “That one.” Mickey followed his gaze and spotted the Pepsi Wave Swinger. He found it pretty odd that his son wanted on that thing; he was only four years old and hasn’t been on that many rides in his childhood yet.

“You sure, kiddo? That one might be a little scary for you, don’t you think?”

“I’m not scared,” Isaac replied.

Mickey looked his son dead in the eyes. “You sure?”

“Yeah, Papa. I can do it.”

This was entirely new for Isaac, and Mickey was actually proud to see his son try out new things. So he didn’t want to ruin the experience for him. “Alright, son. Let’s go.”

Mickey carried Isaac up to the ticket booth, where he placed the little guy on his feet and paid for their wrist bands. As Mickey placed Isaac’s band on his wrist, the little boy’s eyes wandered past Mickey’s shoulder and noticed that the ride was starting up again. All of the passengers seating on the swinging chairs and benches were lifted up as they were being rotated. Suddenly, Isaac’s anxiety perked up.

“Ay,” Mickey grabbed his attention when he noticed the look on Isaac’s face. “You alright, bud?”

Isaac nodded, though he wasn’t sure how true of himself he was this time.

The line was shorter than either Mickey or Isaac expected, which made the latter even more nervous. The previous bunch of passengers on the ride were slowing down after a good five to ten minutes, indicating the end of their ride. The machine stopped, and one of the park employees opened the gates. Now Isaac was biting his lip nervously.

Mickey’s eyes fell down to his son’s, and his thumb caressed the top of his hand. “It’s our turn, kiddo. Ready?”

Isaac didn’t seem ready, but Mickey wanted to make him feel relaxed as he possibly could. He picked him up and carried him through the gates after the employee checked their heights. Mickey gulped when he felt Isaac grip onto his leather jacket.

He himself hasn’t spent too much time around park rides, but what worried him the most was whether or not he would even be capable of helping Isaac face his fears. Mickey wasn’t afraid of too many things, so one would think that he could actually do it. Isaac was a pretty unpredictable kid, though, so there’s no telling what could happen after they leave this ride.

Mickey placed Isaac down on a two-person swing before sitting right next to him. He buckled the both of them in and placed the bar over their laps. The employee from earlier checked to see if they were secured into the seat before checking on the other passengers.

“Papa,” Isaac muttered out, observing the ground while he still could.

“You alright, little man?” Mickey didn’t believe Isaac when he nodded. “We can get off right now, if you want –“

“No, Papa. I wanna stay.” That still didn’t convince Mickey too much, but who was he to ruin quality time with his own son?

So the duo stayed put and listened out for the employee who spoke through a microphone and checked if everyone is safe and secured. Once the all clear was given, all of the swings were lifted off the ground, causing Isaac to panic a little bit. His fears were only heightened the moment they started to spin slowly around.

“Papa, I’m going to fall.”

“No you’re not. Just hold on, alright?” Mickey secretly admitted to being scared himself, but he had to set some sort of example for his own kid.

Eventually, the swings began to tip to one side, and Isaac found himself grabbing onto Mickey’s right arm tightly. Mickey gulped at the combination of the angle they were hanging from and the whimpers from Isaac’s mouth. He’s heard of those rare times when people fell off amusement park rides, and he didn’t want to be like them. All he wanted was for he and his son to have a fun time like they intended in the first place.

* * *

They were on the Wave Swinger for a few more minutes before the ride slowed down to a halt. Everyone started hopping out of their seats, and a terrified Isaac trembled in his seat.

“Alright, come here, bud,” Mickey spoke, picking Isaac up and holding him in his arms. He felt a little dizzy from the ride, for he almost missed a step as they made it out of the gate. “Is that enough for one day, you think?” Isaac didn’t answer. His cheek was glued to Mickey’s shoulder, and his eyes were shut, preventing him from letting out any tears.

Mickey found a bench area where the two of them could sit and sat with Isaac on his lap. “Come on, son. What’s the matter?” he asked, caressing Isaac’s cheek with his thumb. Again, Isaac didn’t answer. “To be fair, I did ask you if you wanted to get off –“

“I wanted to be like you.”

Mickey frowned. “Be like me how?”

“You’re not scared of anything, Papa, are you?”

Mickey would be lying if he said no. There were a plethora of things Mickey was scared of, some of which he couldn’t explain fully to a four-year-old boy.

A lot of people in Mickey’s neighborhood probably assumed that he was as tough as his father, which was entirely not true. Mickey mainly kept that façade up to impress his father and fit the Milkovich status quo. Now that his father was long out of his life, and Ian was integrated into it, Mickey’s done more than express his fears; he’s practically a new man to the South Side of Chicago.

“Um…” Mickey began, holding his son close to him. “I’m afraid of the dark sometimes.”

“You are?”

“Only if I’m an unrecognizable place.” Isaac nodded. “I’m also afraid of snakes.” Mickey chuckled. “I think one of your uncles brought one home when I was about eight years old, and I refused to move off my bed for the rest of the day – well, until he put the snake in the bed while I was sleeping.”

Isaac nodded again before leaning the right side of his face against his father’s chest. Mickey brought a hand up and wiped away a couple of stray tears. “What, you thought your old man was stainless steel there, huh?” Isaac shrugged. Mickey wasn’t that much surprised.

“It’s okay to be scared of things, you know?” Mickey told him. “You’re only four years old, man. It takes a while sometimes to pinpoint your fears and all that. Then when you find out what fears you have, you find ways to overcome those fears.” Mickey paused. “There are some fears you can’t even overcome, no matter how much time you prepare yourself for it.”

“Like what?”

Mickey bit down on his bottom lip and rubbed at Isaac’s side. “Death.” He didn’t elaborate on it any further, because that topic hit so close to home for him. “The good thing about many of these fears is that everyone has them. You know what I mean?” Isaac nodded once more. “You’re not alone on this, peanut. I’m sure there are other kids around the world as scared of heights as you are. Maybe some of those kids aren’t scared. Maybe they overcame their fear of heights. Who knows?”

Isaac adjusted himself on Mickey’s lap and looked up into his father’s eyes. “Is Max scared of heights?”

“Maybe a little less than you, but yeah.”

“Is Daddy scared of heights.”

Mickey chuckled. “Not sure. Probably not.”

“Are you scared of heights, Papa?”

Mickey ran a hand through Isaac’s jet black hair. “A little, yeah,” he confessed. “I don’t ride a lot of roller coasters like your brother does whenever we go to amusement parks, so that’s partially the reason why.”

Isaac fumbled with Mickey’s open leather jacket and stated, “I’m scared of heights, too.”

“Oh really?” Mickey asked, inching an eyebrow on his forehead. “You sure you’re not saying that because you wanna be like your old man?”

“No, Papa. I’m scared of heights.”

Mickey nodded, bringing his son into a small, tight hug followed by a kiss on the cheek. As he did, he looked around the park for a moment before his eyes fell upon the large Ferris Wheel near the middle of the pier. That gave him a brilliant idea.

“You think we can get over our fear of heights someday?”

Isaac shrugged. “I don’t know.”

They spent another few seconds hugging each other, and Mickey picked Isaac up, letting him rest his face on his shoulder. “Wanna try it on the Ferris Wheel?”

“Papa, that’s too high.”

“I know, and Papa’s a little worried about it, too,” Mickey replied, “but it’s not fast or anything like the ride we were just on. No one’s swinging everywhere or anything like that.” Mickey craned his head, glancing down at his hesitant little boy. “We’ll get on together, okay? Just like last time. You hold onto me if you get scared again, okay?”

After a moment, Isaac nodded once again. “Okay.”

“Great,” Mickey declared, pulling his cell phone out to check the time. “After this, we can cool off from the rides and get something to eat. And maybe we can get a little souvenir for you and Daddy or something before we leave.” He walked Isaac over to the Ferris Wheel, and the duo waited for a good fifteen minutes before they got access to one of the carts.

Once inside, the two sat next to each other, waiting anxiously to get the top of the wheel over with. They were halfway close to the top when Mickey felt Isaac grab onto his arm again. Mickey smiled down at him and placed a kiss on top of his head. He pulled his phone out for a brief moment, capturing a photo of the two of them and sending it to Ian before the wheel rotated clockwise once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this made me want to go back to an amusement park so bad (idc if it's Universal Studios, Six Flags, etc.; I just wanna go on a ride somewhere).
> 
> Anyways, I hope you guys liked this chapter. If you have any prompts, questions, comments, or concerns, my [Tumblr ask box](http://promqueen-and-hairgel.tumblr.com/ask) is open. <3
> 
> I'd also like to thank unfinishedbusiness, mainly because this was their idea to include the shirts that Mickey and Isaac are wearing in this story. <3


End file.
